Women have a greater likelihood of experiencing trauma in their lives because women are more likely to have to endure the horror of sexual assault. About half of all women in the United States will experience a traumatic event in their lifetime. All of those women will be profoundly affected in some way by the trauma they have witnessed. A portion of those women will manifest their trauma through problematic symptoms and manifestations which may hide in plain sight. Only a small percentage of these women will develop PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, and face mental health, as well as physical health, struggles as a result.
After a traumatic event takes place, it is common for women to feel shaken up, uncomfortable, or even frantic. Trauma confounds the brain, causing it to compartmentalize complex events in a way which makes processing, understanding, and coping more difficult to do. Since the brain can’t make sense of all the details of a traumatic event, a woman cannot either. She does her best to cope with what she has been through, however, coping is hard to do when you can’t fully process what you’ve been through.
The symptoms of trauma can have a delayed onset, taking women a few weeks to a few months to start truly feeling the impact of the trauma they have endured. Most often, women experience and display symptoms of shock in immediate response to trauma. Once PTSD onsets women might mistake their symptoms for regular symptoms of stress. Women can live for months struggling through the symptoms of trauma without realizing that a mental dysfunction has taken over their mind and their body. What women may think is normal or their best effort to keep living are actually signs of distress which deserve to be professionally treated. If trauma symptoms last more than a few months after they onset, it is likely a woman is dealing with PTSD and needs to receive professional help. PTSD is more common in women who don’t seek support following a traumatic event. Feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety, or despair can quickly worsen symptoms.
PTSD Hidden In Plain Sight
Symptoms of shock and some symptoms of trauma are to be expected in the months following a traumatic event. PTSD symptoms can be hiding in the symptoms of trauma and shock, or in secretive behaviors women aren’t willing to talk about openly due to any shame they may be living with. For example, women may avoid an area where their trauma happened or any kind of situation which might trigger their trauma. Avoiding extra triggers for trauma is understandable especially if a woman is reliving her trauma constantly in nightmares, flashbacks, or ruminating thoughts. She may not be sleeping, eating, or feeling quite herself. Her moods may change frequently and she might find herself settling into an oppositional emotional state from her usual self. On edge and edgy might be terms her friends, family, and coworkers might use to describe how she has been lately.
The Guest House Ocala offers concierge style customization for residential trauma programs, as well as treatment for related issues like addictions and mental illness. Our private estate offers you the privacy and comfort you need to do the work and heal your mind, body, and spirit. For information on life at the estate and our programs for healing, call: 1-855-483-7800